


Make No Mistake

by stoven (orphan_account)



Series: 15Kisses [Scorpio] - Stucky [3]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Hurt Steve Rogers, Kissing, M/M, Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-29
Updated: 2018-08-29
Packaged: 2019-07-03 23:25:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,944
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15829080
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/stoven
Summary: Steve stays quiet and mostly still through the whole thing. He doesn’t like being coddled, but this is different. Bucky cares about him, wants to help him, and doesn’t make him feel like he can’t take care of himself.





	Make No Mistake

**Author's Note:**

> written for the prompt 'sting' for 15kisses on dreamwidth

Just because SHIELD went down, that doesn’t mean Steve is out of a job.

There was still a lot to take care of, after Insight and the release of SHIELD and HYDRA’s information onto the internet. Steve had spent a lot of that time, but there were always HYDRA factions to take down, missions to coordinate with Fury and Natasha. (He didn’t mind it, and he knows he can trust them. He knows they are on the same side.) He and Sam spent a lot of that time traveling together, while Natasha worked directly under Fury and did a lot of her travels alone. Still, the three of them worked and communicated like a team. Not quite like the Avengers, but Steve had liked it better this way; a smaller operation.

They found Bucky in Germany, hiding out in a little studio, although Steve never found out how he paid for it. Honestly, his reasons for tracking Bucky were selfish, and he didn’t even necessarily want Bucky to come back with him if he didn’t want to, Steve just wanted him to be safe. If Bucky had decided he was safe in his little apartment in Germany, Steve wasn’t going to stop him from living his life.

But Bucky remembered Steve.

Yes, he was scared, not everything was quite right, but he remembered things. Not everything, but enough, and agreed to return to New York with him. Even though his reasons had been selfish, Steve couldn’t be more relieved that Bucky had agreed.

Steve had offered Bucky his own floor in the building he has in Brooklyn. It isn’t quite the same neighborhood as when they were kids, but to Steve it’s home and it is where he wanted to be. Bucky declined his own space, and ended up in the spare room in Steve’s. The first few months were difficult. Bucky slept very little, and has nightmares when he _was_ able to. He got confused between his waking moments and his memories, but he was healing slowly but surely. Eventually, he found Steve’s apartment safe enough to sleep for six or seven hours at a time, went with Steve on his morning jogs once or twice a week, and they were working on helping Bucky find a therapist through Stark. (After all, there was only so many professionals that had the clearance to know about Bucky and the Winter Soldier.)

Eight months in, and there’s something that swells inside Steve at the sight of how much Bucky has progressed since their fight on the helicarriers. Even in Germany and when he’d first brought Bucky home, Steve could tell it was hard for Bucky to speak his mind, or do simple tasks without having to plan and process every move. (Steve tries not to think too hard about Bucky’s learned behaviors.) Now Bucky, in his casual jeans and sweaters, fits right into Steve’s daily life. Bucky seems comfortable, stable, he seems even more well adjusted to this century than Steve.

On more than one occasion Steve has had to ask Bucky with help on the computer, although he has a pretty strong grasp of the Internet now, as well as the TV and his phone. He wishes Stark phones were a little more friendly towards super soldiers that spent the last 70 years sleeping through technological advances. Bucky spends most of his time on the internet. When Steve looks over, it’s usually Wikipedia or Reddit, sometimes Craigslist. Neither of them have day jobs, but Steve has seen Bucky browsing the Help Wanted ads on there. Again, Steve still has a job under Fury for the occasional HYDRA takedown mission. So even though SHIELD no longer stands, Steve is always on call.  

Every other week, Steve gets such a call from either Fury or Natasha.

Sometimes their intel brings them close to home, new data on HYDRA is always being decrypted and decoded. They are simple takedowns, in and out. Sometimes they travel far. Outside of the country, across the ocean, hundreds of miles away from Bucky. Those are usually risky infiltration ops. His friend tries not to look too concerned, but they both know how dangerous the missions can potentially be. Bucky says, “Be safe, Steve,” every time he has to walk out of the door.

The serum has always allowed for Steve to be reckless with his body. Where before, in 1939, Steve would put himself in harm's way regardless, now he could do so with minimal repercussions. It had never mattered how much it hurt, but now his body could keep going despite the pain. And put itself back together in a timely manner, too. With that knowledge, Steve has grown to have even less self-preservation than before. Still, week after week, he would return home to Bucky more or less unscathed. A bruise here, a cut there, quickly healed in 24 hours or less thanks to the serum.

Seeing the relieved expression on Bucky’s face is always worth it to come home to, as well.

That’s why tonight he leans against the door to their apartment, hesitant to turn the knob, hesitant to see the look on Bucky’s face when he sees what a mess Steve is. But he has to go inside, has to at least try to dress some of his wounds. His healing is fast, but he’d rather not be in pain any longer than he has too, and negligence in caring for his injuries could hurt further down the line. He breathes out once more, hard, and twists the doorknob.

With all his weight on it, the door swings open and he just barely stumbles past the threshold. It’s a blessing he can hold himself up right now, although he’d prefer it if he weren’t.

Bucky is on the couch, laptop resting on his knees as he’s curled up against the arm. The TV drones very softly as background noise. When Bucky looks up at him his heart does and awful, funny little flip-flop at Bucky’s expression. Immediately Bucky is jumping up from the couch and rushing over to him.

“Jesus Christ, Steve, what the fuck happened?”

Steve manages to laugh actually, a self-deprecating thing that hurts his chest. He’s hasn’t looked in a mirror but he can only imagine what he looks like. He can feel the swell of bruising under his left eye, and the slice on his lips, from the dip under his nose to his chin. He’s bleeding from somewhere, can feel it oozing on his jaw. His knuckles ache and his uniform has been cut in several places, and he’s bleeding from those, too.

“Hey, Buck.” Steve grins as Bucky makes it over to him and helps him to the direction of the bathroom. Bucky has one arm under his shoulders, holding him up, and the other steadying around his midsection. “Just a setback, not everything goes exactly to plan every time.”

“A _setback._ You look like you’ve been picking fights too big for you again, Stevie.” The tone is light hearted, but Bucky’s expression is focused and stern. He helps Steve into the bathroom and sits him on the edge of the bathtub.

“Thanks, Buck,” Steve says. Even as he sways where he sits, he pats Bucky’s leg where he can reach, “I can take it from here.”

“Don’t be stupid, Steve.” Bucky says, and shuffles around the cabinets for first aid supplies. Steve doesn’t have an excellent perception of time right now, he probably hit his head too hard, but it’s nothing worse than any of his other injuries. Probably.

Bucky starts on his uniform first, peeling it off of his skin around the quickly drying wounds. Washes off the blood with a cloth, dresses each one with care and the experience from being wounded enough, himself. Bucky moves to Steve’s face, wiping blood from his temple and cheeks and lips.

“Looks like you’ve got a cut on your head, Stevie.” Bucky says, gently tending to it. Feels all the way up in his hairline.

Steve stays quiet and mostly still through the whole thing. He doesn’t like being coddled, but this is different. Bucky cares about him, wants to help him, and doesn’t make him feel like he can’t take care of himself. When he looks up at Bucky through his eyelashes, his head tilts up more than he realizes and it makes Bucky pull away from where he was focused on the head injury. Steve grabs his wrist, gently, just the curl of his fingers around Bucky’s metal arm. The plates shift against his fingers.

“What is it, Steve?” Bucky asks. His voice is quiet, but it still echoes against the tiles of the bathroom. “Did I hurt you?”

Steve shakes his head, and he _must_ have hit it much harder than he thought because in the next moment he’s kissing Bucky. He can feel Bucky inhale in surprise, but doesn’t move away. Slowly, hesitantly, Bucky’s hand rests behind Steve’s head, right at the base of his skull. It’s a safe, comforting gesture as they kiss. Eventually, too soon, Bucky does pull back. He’s stood closer to Steve know and Steve can see how far he’s had to bend over to kiss him where he sits.

“Steve, I— wait—“ Bucky starts as Steve stands up, and his body aches, but he stands so he can kiss Bucky again, properly this time. Bucky moans when their lips meet again, Steve’s hands on either side of his face. He still has the uniform gloves on and they scrape the stubble on Bucky’s jaw soft but the sound is so satisfying.

The cut on Steve’s lip burns as their mouths move together. Bucky is gentle in his motions but there’s still the sharp reminder every time their lips move just that way. Steve doesn’t mind _too_ much, he’s already beat to shit and he’s always had a ridiculously high pain tolerance. When Bucky’s tongue slides right over the injury, he can feel the blood leaking from it again and moans as that tongue licks right into his mouth. Bucky glides his tongue along Steve’s own, along the roof of Steve’s mouth, and licks at the back of Steve’s teeth. It’s the hottest thing Steve has ever felt.

Bucky pulls back then, a little breathless and his face is flush, and he looks so, _so_ beautiful.

“Christ.” Bucky breathes, his eyes are closed, eyelashes soft against his cheek. Steve loves it, loves everything about Bucky. “You must’a hit your head pretty hard if you’re kissin’ someone like me by mistake.”

“Not a mistake, Buck.” Steve smiles when Bucky opens his eyes, looks right at him. “No one I’d rather be kissin’ than you.”

“God I’d hate to see what you’re like high on painkillers ya big flirt.” Bucky smiles back at him, his face is definitely red now and Steve loves the way it looks. Bucky puts his arm around Steve’s back to hold him up again, lead him out of the bathroom and down the hall. “Let’s get you to bed, pal. Put that super serum healing to work.”

They get into Steve’s room and Bucky deposits him on the bed, sitting down himself after he gets Steve settled. At first Steve isn’t sure if Bucky is going to stay, but then the bed dips where Bucky’s body curls up next to his. Wordlessly, they move until Bucky is holding him, and their legs are tangled together. Bucky lets out a sigh so deep it sounds like all the air in his body escaping, and Steve matches it. He falls asleep easier than he has in months with Bucky beside him. 


End file.
